US ,SOS Outreach Announces Resignation of Founder, Executive Director Arn Menconi

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Menconi to pursue new opportunities after leading non-profit for 21 years 

Avon, CO (October 30, 2014) -- Twenty-one years ago, a snowboarder named Arn Menconi started SOS Outreach in Vail, Colo. and oversaw the organization’s growth into a leading youth development non-profit. Having just surpassed 40,000 students across 31 resorts nationwide, Menconi has decided the time is right to move on and pursue new opportunities and passions, the SOS Outreach Board of Directors announced Thursday.

“Arn Menconi is a unique person. His passionate commitment to SOS over the past 20 years has made SOS the amazing organization it is today. Arn has dedicated his career to making a positive difference in the lives of so many youth, and he triumphantly succeeded,” said board president Buie Seawell, a professor at the University of Denver. “I look forward to his continued success, as well as that of SOS, as we move into an exciting new chapter of this extraordinary organization.”

“For 20 consecutive years, we’ve grown funding, added programs and achieved fantastic outcomes for tens of thousands of participants and thousands of volunteers,” said Menconi. “SOS is in the best place its ever been with an amazing staff at 10 locations, a healthy funding base and significant financial reserves. I leave with a heavy heart, but with the knowledge that the organization is in great hands, with a strong board and dedicated staff. Most importantly I’m so grateful to the youth in SOS who have given me so many blessings.”

Seth Ehrlich, who has served with SOS for the past nine years, most recently as vice president of operations, has been tapped as interim executive director and will continue to be based in Colorado. The organization is on pace to serve 4,500 participants across 22,000 program days nationally for the upcoming 2014-15 season.

Theresa Papandrea, vice president of programs, will continue to oversee program implementation nationally in addition to direct program management for more than 500 Lake Tahoe youth in California. She too is a nine-year veteran of the organization.

“Vail Resorts wishes Arn only the best in his new endeavors and is looking forward to supporting SOS in its future incarnation at our mountains,” said Kristin Kenney Williams, SOS board member and vice president of mountain community affairs for Vail Resorts. “The impact SOS makes on the youth in our resort communities has been so meaningful and is so perfectly aligned with our core values.”

A SOS board member for over 15 years, Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen added: “I applaud Arn for the success that he has created. This organization has grown so much under his leadership, and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

Menconi’s tenure as executive director has provided programs for 40,000 youth and trained more than 2,000 adult mentors in community stewardship curriculum.

In 2009, SOS merged with Meet the Wilderness, a 34-year-old summer-based non-profit. Through the merger, SOS participant numbers grew from 3,000 to 5,000 youth and to nearly 20,000 days of activity annually.

SOS Outreach is a national youth development non-profit that utilizes adventure sports to engage at-risk students in long-term mentorship relationships. The SOS curriculum encourages responsibility, self-confidence, service, and leadership skills by instilling six core values: courage, discipline, integrity, wisdom, compassion and humility. Since 1993, SOS has inspired positive decision making for healthy and successful lives. SOS currently operates at eight Vail Resorts, and two Intrawest mountains.

Stay in contact with Arn Menconi at arnmenconi@gmail.com or 970.390.4844.

SOS Outreach Board members are:

Professor Buie Seawell – Chair
Clinical Professor, Daniel’s School of Business - University of Denver

Bill Cotton – Vice  Chair
President and Owner, Optic Nerve Sunglasses

Dr. Claus Tjaden – Treasurer
Senior Partner, Martinez Tjaden, LLP

Bill Jensen – Secretary
CEO, Intrawest

Mike Carey – Director
President, Seirus Innovation
Ex Officio, Snowsports Industry America

Anthony De Rocco – Director  
President and CEO, Jarden Action Sports

Nate Fristoe – Director
Director, RRC Associates

Jason Glass – Director
Superintendent, Eagle County Schools

Clark Gundlach – Director
Sr. Vice President, General Manager Wintersports, Quiksilver

Dr. Cheryl Healton – Director 
Director, New York University Global Institute of Public Health

Kat Jobanputra – Director
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Vail Resorts Retail

Kristin Kenney Williams – Director 
Vice President Mountain Community Affairs, Vail Resorts

Professor Lisa Neirotti – Director
Professor of Sports Management, Event Management and Tourism, George Washington University

Dr. Gil Noam – Director
Director and Associate Professor, Program in Education and Afterschool and Resiliency – Harvard University

Rob Perlman – Director
Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Steamboat Ski Resort


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